He's Just Not That In To You... Or is he?

So I spent my Friday Night watching HJNTITY and it frustrated me to no end. So prepare for a rant.

A movie that is about how guys are jerks and that their jerkyness is not a sign that they like you should NOT end with a conclusion that goes AGAINST it's very essence.

I thought the whole point of this movie (and the book--as it should be) was to show girls how crazy they are for over thinking guy's actions when they in fact are quite obvious. And for the majority of the movie, Jonathan Long does just that. Through his telling the girl about how guys truly work, all the girls in the audience see that the way they think guys work is entirely upside down. Here is the essence. Every girl knows the rule that guys are jerks, but because of some story about a friend of a friend of a friend, they think they might have the guy that is the exception to the rule making herself the exception to the rule. LONG tells you though that we are in fact the rule and not the exception. As the Lawyer from House M.D. discussed with Cuddy "The rules are there for a reason. Because for 95% of the people, they work." "And what about those other 5 percent?" "Everyone thinks they are that 5%" We all want to believe we are in the high end of the bell curve, but sometimes.. most of the time... we are just stuck in the middle of it with all the other normal/average people.

So this is how the ending ruins it. Long confirms to his girl that she is the exception to this rule. Now every single girl in the movie theater (at least the ones that identified with that character) are going to think they are the exception as well. All the progress that was made was lost in that last 15 minutes of the movie.

Another thing that frustrates me about this movie... and all Romantic Comedies for that matter is the fact that life is so not like them in any way. The guy never comes in the end with the engagement ring after 7 years and a life time of anti-marriage sentiment. The guy that turned you away after you threw yourself on top of him, isn't going to suddenly realize how amazing you really are. And to that end, a guy is not going to be that unaware of his feelings for you. Not so unaware that when given the chance to be with you, he rejects you. Not in real life anyway. And they never come at just the right time and say just the right thing.

As a screenwriter... correction, as a person who has taken a screenwriting class and attempted writing a script and thus learned a thing or two from a real screenwriter, we learn that the lines cannot be too perfect. They have to sound real. Romantic Comedies seem to be the exception to this rule. Ironic.

That being said. I did love the last line. It was delivered well by the characters to a point where it was believable. After Long kisses her, she barely gets out "I am the exception" He sweetly replies "You're my exception". That was a great moment.

I also liked in the end where it seemed like they were interviewing real people instead of actors playing characters.